A few videogame, computer and related things (or "things I learned") I've been doing in the past few days of "vacation"

Mon, 12/22/2008 - 8:07pm — Bill Loguidice

I've been on vacation from work with the wife and kids at home since last Friday (until the 30th), so I've actually had time to do some videogame, computer and related things I've been meaning to do for a very long time. As I mentioned in another thread my wife had a cookie party on Saturday, so I took some time away from all the ladies with my dad by retiring to the basement and getting his help with finishing upgrading/repairing the modified Hero Jr robot and PAL-based Exidy Sorcerer, as well as repairing a spare Nintendo DS Lite in an aftermarket case and Microsoft Xbox 360 wireless controller.

Hero Jr

The Hero Jr needed a mismatched rechargeable battery swapped out (about 1/3 the size of a car battery) and Y2K ROM upgrades put in. Once we figured out how to remove all the casing, it was relatively easy to swap in the new battery. Shockingly, even without charging, the robot went through all of its self-tests (sonar, light sensor, sound senor, driving, etc.) successfully. The ROM chips were a bit more difficult, but once we took the head casing off and removing a stacked circuit board it was just a matter of pulling two chips and placing the two replacements in the socket. Easy, though of course it took many tries to plug certain wires back into the correct spots--in this case it was the sonar test that was failing before we figured out how to resolve it. Anyway, running through the tests and having everything work was quite nice and of course the girls were very excited to have the robot finally working and doing his thing (it's tough to make out his speech initially as it's speech synthesis circa 1983/4, but you quickly get up to speed). The one last thing I tried was the multi-cart I got, which has all of the cartridges ever made for the Hero Jr, which mostly consists of games and programming options (you plug either a classic computer, terminal or modern system with Hyperterminal into its RS-232 port and program it that way (it has a special BASIC as well as a more advanced language)).

I've been using the robot in its various built-in modes and some of the programs from the multi-cart, but haven't been able to do anything particularly profound with it as of yet, as it really requires reading the documentation, particularly the programming part. Not sure when I'll get to that, but it's at least ready to do stuff with which it wasn't for the longest time since I got it. I'll do a real blog post on it at some point with video and what-not. (As an aside, Amazon had the R2-D2 robot for like 40% off for a few hours, so I jumped on that as a consolation prize for not being able to afford the Ultimate Wall-E robot, so the girls will have a new robot to go along with the Hero Jr for Christmas)

Exidy Sorcerer

A long time ago I received a VERY expensive Exidy Sorcerer and BASIC cartridge from The Netherlands. What the seller failed to tell me was that he cut the power plug before shipping, so there was no plug-in end. It's the PAL version of the Sorcerer, but there's a relatively straightforward conversion process to NTSC (and in fact the other way for NTSC machines), which essentially involves cutting some traces, retracing some more circuits and putting a new plug on the cut end of the power cord. Unfortunately, it requires a level of electronics sophistication I just don't have at this point and it was too much to tackle with my father. Luckily I was able to get an NTSC Exidy Sorcerer for a relative steal (with disk drives that may or may not be matched to it) recently (it should arrive soon), so I can use the PAL one as a parts machine. I have various software items for the computer (on cassette), documentation and a huge custom S-100 expansion box with 8" disk drives. That's another computer with little info available on the net begging for some real good video and blogging coverage. (By the way, technically I can just put a 220v plug on the end and just use my power converter to make it work here, which is the easiest way of getting it going. In fact, I just need to track that end down so I can wire it)

Nintendo DS Lite and Xbox 360 Controller

My girls each got used Nintendo DS Lites from a friend of the family (my wife's co-worker, after her boys got new ones). Amelie, my oldest, who's four, plays with hers regularly and has some age appropriate games. My youngest, Olivia, who's two and a bit destructive, broke hers pretty soon after getting it. The copper ribbon connector at the hinge got busted. Unfortunately, there's really no way that my father or I could figure out how to repair that type of connection, so we crossed it off as another "not happening". Not sure what I'll do with the unit, but it's pretty much a lost cause. (both of those Nintendo DS Lite's were placed in aftermarket cases and exhibit the standard limp hinge syndrome, where it only stays open in the fully extended position)

As for the Xbox 360 controller, it's a third controller and unfortunately has a faulty stick. You need a special bit to remove the screws and unfortunately the one I have can't fit in the narrow pathway, so I unfortunately need to get a special tool or an extender to reach in there. Another failure.

Hulk Blu Ray Movie and Metal Gear Solid 4 on the PS3

We got the Blu Ray version of the latest Hulk movie from Netflix. I can't say I was into seeing it, as I liked the Ang Lee one before it, but was a bit burnt out on the whole Hulk concept. My wife wanted to see it though (Ed Norton fan) so I of course acquiesced. In short, I was totally surprised as it kicked butt. A great, great film, right up there with my favorite super hero films of all time. Unfortunately the disc had some damage on it and we weren't able to see it all the way to the end. Netflix is sending a replacement which should arrive on Tuesday, so we'll be able to see the rest of it. I can't wait.

I also got Metal Gear Solid 4 for the PS3 from Gamefly, which is another one I was putting off spending time with. In short, it's technically impressive, but I couldn't wrap my head fully around the controls or get good situational awareness. It was also of course cut scene heavy (the classic "why am I WATCHING cool stuff instead of DOING cool stuff). I sent it back along with the damaged Hulk disc. It's just not for me.

This is the one I've been working on for a few days now and I've just finished up all I'm going to do on it for a while. Right now, my machine, which is running Windows XP SP 2 behind it, is primarily a MAME system (and a jukebox for when we work out, among other things), and I've always intended adding Visual Pinball (PinMAME) and Daphne, the laser disc emulator (particularly the former since my machine has pinball-specific buttons) to create the perfect trifecta. Sadly, Visual Pinball doesn't seem to work right specifically with XP SP 2 (it crashes after exiting from a table) and I can't update to SP 3 because it causes an unrecoverable error on my system (not that that would necessarily fix the issue anyway), requiring a very annoying system restore. Future Pinball left me flat as an alternative, so I passed on that as well. I also couldn't get Daphne working right (it didn't seem to point to the right things even though they were apparently all there). This despite having complete sets of both Visual Pinball and Daphne on CD/DVD, and trying the latest versions. So very disappointing there and a waste of a lot of time.

Also, while it has two 8-way joysticks, a four way joystick, a trackball and a spinner, in addition to a plethora of buttons and a light gun, it does not have a steering wheel. I was trying to figure a way to retrofit some plastic wheels I have on the spinner, but essentially it didn't work out (suction cups for instance are too floppy). So the spinner has to double as a steering wheel until I can figure out some type of clamp system (I'll probably try to find and rig something like that in early January). It actually works well enough in games like Pole Position and Super Sprint that I think I could be happy if I can't figure out a sufficient system that I can pop on and off (I don't want to resort to a USB wheel because I haven't seen a free spinning one, which is necessary for certain games like the aforementioned Super Sprint).

Still, even as just a MAME machine and the other things that it does, it's a wonderfully authentic system and I do hope to somehow at some point get a decent and intuitive hard-drive installable pinball and laser disc arcade game setup. Who knows though (there has to be certain considerations for my ArcadeVGA card and monitor, obviously, which support very specific things). Regardless, I'll continue to enjoy it on a regular basis.

On the plus side, all the work on the arcade machine gave me plenty of quality time with the Marvel pinball machine (also shown in that very old photo), giving me a new appreciation for it, even though it's only roughly 3/4 scale. I certainly need to provide proper future coverage of both just like for the other stuff mentioned above.

Next steps

Not sure... I still need to see if I can get the Videobrain computer working and I need to test my recent acquisition of an Ohio Scientific computer. Many, many possibilities and still time for it all...

Comments

I have done a little tinkering myself - made a new top for the three night-stands I use as a cabinet to house my consoles and put my tv on. Turned out nicely with a white glossy surface on top of Birchwood cabinets. It will stay like this for a while until I am going to try and get a new cabinet that fits in that spot and doesn't look home-made.

My old Sony Trinitron 19" is a voluminous beast so I made the top of the cabinets roughly 15cm deeper so I would have more room in front and in back of the television. It sticks out at the back leaving quite a bit of room for cables and ac sockets. Then I reconnected everything and noticed that the scart/rgb signal wouldn't come up clear any more. Fiddled with the cables but to no avail, I think the scart box in the tv has a problem as it worked fine with my even smaller 14" trinitron tv. So I went out and got myself a 26" LE26A330 Samsung LCD that totally fits the spot. I have a couple of rgb/scart switches and connected to it is a Dreamcast, Sega Saturn, Nintendo Gamecube, N64, Snes, Famicom, C64, PS2. The Trinitron is going to the house in France.

The old Xbox has gotten a long overdue NTSC-eprom treatment from me and luckily it survived my tinkering. It is now connected through component video and what an improvement it is. PAL Xboxes have all the parts to output component video but Microsoft doesn't want EU users to have HDTV images with the original Xbox so they've left it out. The xbox bios reads the eprom and either displays or doesn't display the HDTV settings. Makes you wonder - why do that to PAL users? It's even more complicated technically to do something like that. Anyways if Microsoft had enabled component video on the PAL xbox I bet they would have had even more sales. The PAL PS2 is able to output a component signal so WFT?
Anyways most PAL games run just fine on the patched NTSC-eprom - 60 fps also ensures a decent smooth game play. Far smoother than the original PAL 50fps setting ever did. This 50Hz in combination with blotched resolutions and refresh rates is something most other consoles have in common apart from the Nextgen Xbox 360 and PS3.

I got unexpanded Vic-20 and tested it. Works fine, I do have a 1540 and a 1541 drive on it to use and I am going to try out some software for it. Beats tinkering around in Vice - even though it is an excellent emulator. I seemed to have misplaced my 1541 drive cables and I have no way of getting new ones. Bill do you have any suggestions? It is a shame the vic-20 emblem fell off and is missing. It is very cool to sit the bleached looking Vic20 and its bigger brother next to each other. Both my brown breadbox and white breadbox were produced in Germany - probably in the same factory.

The Dell Optiplex GX270 - which I hack around in on OSX - has received a memory trade. There was an assortment of ram modules in the 4 memory banks amounting to 1.6Gb of ram but I replaced them with 1.5Gb of DDR matched pair memory modules. Two 256Mb ones and two 512Mb ones, all DDR and I must say the machine feels a lot snappier. Both in Windows XP SP3 as in OSX 10.4.11.

I intend to throw a Live Party with some of my friends this Wednesday December 24th around 11AM GMT-1 (Amsterdam Time Zone) and we'll be playing Gears of War2 and a couple of other multi player games on-line. If people from here want to join that would be cool. Perhaps organizing something similar with AA readers would be a cool idea too. Let us know if you are interested in something like that.

I'll check the MAME version later, but essentially I'm running MAME32 because that was the easiest to configure for my setup with the iPac stuff and the ArcadeVGA and arcade monitor. Some of the more sophisticated versions I"ve tried (and front ends) have not supported everything as properly as I would have liked. In any case, it's a pretty old MAME version but I have no reason to upgrade as it runs everything I want so far and I'm familiar with its configuration quirks.

You should be able to find Commodore serial cables at lots of places. Here's one on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.ie/Commodore-Serial-Cable-for-C64-C128-and-Disk-Drive_W0QQitemZ110328408608QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_VintageComputing_RL?hash=item110328408608&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1300|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

Personally, I wouldn't hack a $7000+ machine, and I'm sure it's at least partially custom components since its dedicated to one game. It would be easier and far cheaper just to set up a really high end PC with racing setup and cock pit. It wouldn't be quite as slick, but it would still look and be cool, and be entirely customizable. I think cockpit cages are even sold, so it would just be a matter of mounting everything.

I've been kind of thinking of someday getting a cocktail cabinet as well, like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&i... though of course it would be rather redundant given my current setup. So really I'm probably better off someday getting something like that Virtual Pinball machine assuming it plays well. Of course I'm still not giving up hope that I can't do a decent video pinball setup on my MAME machine, as I specifically added pinball buttons for that purpose.

I've also been intrigued by the concept of using a projector-based system for a different type of experience, as well, like this: http://www.dreamarcades.com/120inch.shtml . I just think it's terrifically cool, though you do need sufficient distance between the platform and the wall to get the largest image. Ah, if only I were rich and had more room!

Anyway, I think I'm going to go through my software collection and see what pinball games I have that are hard drive installable (i.e., don't require a disc in the CD-ROM drive, though that is an option if need be) and have configurable controls.

Well, I installed Sierra's older "3D Ultra Pinball Creep Night" CD that I had lying around. It was configurable to my controls and was old enough where it caused no issues. It's also compatible with Windows XP, which of course was important. I'll have it on there as an alternative game. It's not great pinball, but it is fun. The only thing I don't like is that you need the CD to run it.

I also eBay'd "Microsoft Pinball Arcade", as I think that will work out nicely. Hopefully I won't need the CD for it, but I probably will. I also set up the Pinball game that comes with XP, but it's not going to be a primary game.

That will give me my laserdisc arcade game fix. Hopefully it runs well on the arcade machine (based on the specs it should be no problem). I really want this: http://www.digitalleisure.com/contents/DVDVideo_games.htm#crimeFight since it supports my arcade machine's light gun, but the cheapest I can find it for is the one on Amazon for $29.99 plus shipping. I'd rather set the other stuff up first and then do that. Besides, I have working light gun games through MAME.

Also, on a side note I installed the Slingbox software on my arcade machine (long overdue). It looks and works spectacularly.

Once I have a few more of those things set up, I'm going to permanently lock down the machine and do a hard drive clone to keep it safe in case there's a physical disaster. That's also something that's been long overdue. Maybe then I'll have the confidence to wire up a power supply to my coin door to make that work (as a home machine, it's set up for non-commercial use) and get the thing as perfect as it will ever be.

Well, I installed Sierra's older "3D Ultra Pinball Creep Night" CD that I had lying around. It was configurable to my controls and was old enough where it caused no issues. It's also compatible with Windows XP, which of course was important. I'll have it on there as an alternative game. It's not great pinball, but it is fun. The only thing I don't like is that you need the CD to run it.

I also eBay'd "Microsoft Pinball Arcade", as I think that will work out nicely. Hopefully I won't need the CD for it, but I probably will. I also set up the Pinball game that comes with XP, but it's not going to be a primary game.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all at Armchair Arcade!

Bill, the most realistic pinball sim I've ever seen on the PC is "Pro Pinball: Timeshock!" It is light years beyond the table that comes with Windows, and wows everyone I've shown it to, even though it's an old game. It really looks and plays like a real pinball table, and even has "arcade operator" settings to tweak the difficulty level and other settings, just like a real pinball machine. Strangely, it came out at least 10 years ago, but I haven't seen anything to top it as far as realism goes since, and still looks cool to this day! The gameplay is extremely smooth and realistic, unlike the choppy "Youtube" videos I've seen of this game.

The PC freeware "Visual Pinball" and "Future Pinball" are both cool, but do not come close to the realism of "Timeshock!" Alas, "Timeshock!" is only one table, but it is a cool one, almost like buying a real pinball machine for the price of a videogame. "Pro Pinball: Timeshock!" is one of the games I show off to the "uninitiated." They may not understand how cool "Half Life 2" is, but when they see a simulation of pinball (which everyone has seen in real life), they can't believe how realistic it is!

I don't know your arcade machine setup, so it might not work for your particular situation (with the arcade cab and such), but there's no question that "Pro Pinball" looks and plays uncannily like a real pinball machine on the PC. I do know that you do need to have the "Timeshock!" CD in the CD drive to play this game, though, so it might be less appealing to you in that sense.

I saw "Pro-Pinball: The Ultimate Compilation" on Amazon, which includes "The Web," "Timeshock!," and "Big Race USA." I only can vouch for Timeshock, which I've lost many hours playing, but the compilation sounds like a good deal! (I'll gift it to you via Amazon if you want. Bill).

One thing I'll say about "Timeshock!".... it's the most REALISTIC pinball game I've ever seen on a PC, but not the most fun pinball game I've ever played in real life (although "Timeshock!" really is fun), or even in a pinball videogame. To make this clear, "Timeshock!" IS VERY FUN, but the primary appeal is how realistic it is for "show-off" purposes. ("HOLY COW, THAT LOOKS REAL!")

Of course there's the Amiga "Pinball Dreams/Fantasies/Illusions," but I'm not sure how well your arcade/cab setup can handle this via an Amiga emulator. Pinball Fantasies was one of the most fun videogames I've ever played!

In a similar vein, one of the most fun video pinball games I've ever played was "Duke Nukem: Balls of Steel" for the PC back in the day (at least 10 or more years ago). It was a scrolling, overhead pinball game (similar to "Pinball Fantasies"), but with added extras that could only be achieved in a videogame (aliens wandering around the pinball table, etc.). I haven't played it in many years, but I suspect it will still hold up, gameplay-wise, even today! I only played the shareware demo, but I recall being breathless after playing it! I can't find it anywhere today, though. It was the perfect blend of mechanical pinball and videogaming technology. I think I've read that it's available through "XBOX LIVE," but I'm not certain of that. If so, it's well worth getting if they charge a reasonable price for it.

It would be really cool if your arcade cab had buttons on the sides of the cab for "flippers!"

(P.S. Daggone, I'm trying to reduce the size of my posts, but I can't help myself in this case!)

Cool, Rob, I'll check it out. Though it does seem that there might be some issues with Windows XP, which is what the arcade machine runs. Otherwise it sounds like it will run well on my setup. And yes I do have two sets of pinball buttons on the left and right and a launcher on the front. I actually ordered Microsoft Pinball Arcade, which should arrive soon. That sounds like a good one too. My Dragon's Lair 20th Anniversary DVD came the other day, with Dragon's Lair 2 and Space Ace on it that I have to install as well. Between that and the pinball games, I won't need Daphne or Virtual Pinball on the thing.

We recently redid the downstairs just a bit, so I need to take some new photos and post them, as well as various close-ups of the arcade machine. It will make it easier to describe things.

There's this tg16 pinball remake out on the Wii in the shape of Wii-ware that is actually quite nice to play. Especially if you know the tg16 original 'Alien Crush'. It is not a stellar 100% score game but to me it scores about 70% out of a 100%. Produced by the original creator Hudson soft.
The graphics are very organic looking with disgusting aliens crawling around. The graphics are somewhat reminiscent of Amiga artwork.
B and Z buttons are used to control the flippers and you can nudge the table by shaking the controller.

When you compare it to Pinball FX this game lacks a bit of depth and the tables - although designed to a high standard - feel somewhat tame. Well worth the money of the Wii is a console you own and you feel the need for some electronic pinball that plays like the real thing!

Elise and I went on a little trip to Emmen to be out of town on the last day of the year.

Emmen Zoo - frozen waterfall filmed on the last day of the year

Emmen Zoo - another frozen waterfall filmed on the last day of the year

Emmen Zoo - elephants enjoying fresh branches in Emmen Zoo on the last day of the year. During the winter months the Elephants spend a lot of time in the stables but they are able to withstand freezing temperatures too and enjoy some time out doors as well. In this little video you can see the latest addition to the elephant-family - a 3 month old elephant boy.

The moment I got back I had a package waiting for me it was my ethernet/svideo/component/composite/audio/optical audio 4-port switch for underneath my 26" Samsung LCD. I attached my PS2 over component - the stock PAL PS2 does offer component connection contrary to the stock PAL Xbox. It features a nice display with programmable names so it is easy to select the proper input. It's great for multiple ethernet enabled consoles.
I wonder - is there a component gamecube cable on the market?

After cleaning up some of my boxes in the attic I discovered no less than 4 daisy chain serial cbm cables for use with my C16, Vic20, C64 machines and the 1540 and 1541, 1541 diskdrives I have lying around. Still three glorious days of vacation left until I start my new job next Tuesday.
Xbox 360: Lactobacillus P | Wii: 8151 3435 8469 3138
Armchair arcade Editor | Pixellator | www.markvergeer.nl

In this little video you can see the latest addition to the elephant-family - a 3 month old elephant boy.

Animal babies seem to be the rage at the moment. In Germany a baby ice bear called "Knut" (pronounced "knoodt" in English) actually had its own TV show (very short, though). However, public interest faded quickly after the bear got too big.
Recently, the trainer of the bear died of a stroke or something like that - he knew he had a bad condition (not necessarily critical) and chose to spend his time growing up that bear. Isn't that sad?

After cleaning up some of my boxes in the attic I discovered no less than 4 daisy chain serial cbm cables for use with my C16, Vic20, C64 machines and the 1540 and 1541, 1541 diskdrives I have lying around. Still three glorious days of vacation left until I start my new job next Tuesday.

I'm done with vacation :-(
Actually I didn't game that much (only Crysis which was available as a budget title before Christmas and some Animal Crossing on the Gamecube) and used the time to investigate TV sets. It seems that this "homework" is necessary nowadays to not be disappointed.